Greetings from sunny and warm Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course, after a winter spent (for the most part) in the Northeast, almost anywhere might be considered sunny and warm.

I arrived on Monday afternoon for practice day. I did not make it in time for either of the two workout sessions run by former Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Cap Raeder and New York Rangers' skating and skill development coach Mark Ciaccio. Long ago realizing that my game was beyond repair, the coaches decided against fining me.

This year, the coaches have more players to worry about as the camp tournament has expanded from four to six teams. While Raeder and Ciaccio put the campers through their paces on the ice, Walter Gretzky and the other coaches rate the players in preparation for the draft.

Later in the evening, at the Bellagio Hotel and Resort (tough assignment, eh?), the teams were announced. I landed on a team headed by former pros Rick Tocchet and Matthew Barnaby, which means we won't get pushed around. At least, I hope we won't.

The games begin this afternoon with each of the six teams playing twice. With any luck, I won't get hurt.

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I don't have a crystal ball. Predicting is a real complicated thing. If we stay healthy, have enough depth and get the good goaltending we think we're going to have, you can go all the way. But a lot of things have to happen. There's going to be a lot of teams that think the same thing. Everyone made deals. We're all are optimistic about where we'll end up.

— Rangers general manager Glen Sather after being asked if he's constructed a team that can win the Stanley Cup before their 4-1 win against the Predators on Monday